


Didn't Want To Forget

by talesfromamadwoman (wolfodder)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Friendship/Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-07
Updated: 2013-01-07
Packaged: 2017-11-24 01:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/628635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfodder/pseuds/talesfromamadwoman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin did not have any idea how long he would have to wait for Arthur. But he realised that he might have to wait for a very long time.</p><p>He was afraid, though. What if he didn't recognize his King when he came? He didn't want to forget.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Didn't Want To Forget

**Author's Note:**

> Just a small drabble. I was inspired. Hope you cry and smile.

Merlin did not have any idea how long he would have to wait for Arthur. But he realised that he might have to wait for a very long time.

He was afraid, though. What if he didn't recognize his King when he came? He didn't want to forget.

That was why, every evening, Merlin would sit in a dark room lit only by a candle, and draw Arthur's face. He would think of the way his lips quirked whenever Merlin had said something funny or just hilariously stupid. His blue eyes shining like the Lake of Avalon. His golden hair that just _was_ there and the way he wore his armour. And Merlin would draw every facial feature that belonged to Arthur.

He didn't want to forget. And he didn't.

Until one evening he stopped drawing.

Arthur's face faded from his mind too quickly. In the end, he could not imagine his lips quirking and his blue eyes shining. He could not remember his golden hair or the way he wore his armour. The drawings didn't help because they were not real. And forgetting him broke Merlin's heart.

He kept the drawings anyway. As the papers he had used got old and fragile and Merlin lived on, he framed them so that they would not break. And he put them up on his wall.

Merlin was usually the old man, Emrys. Occasionally he would remember certain things from his past with Arthur, like complaining about Arthur breaking his favourite pot. And he would smile as he told children who liked him tales of how he once rode on King Arthur's back. Those were the times he thought he could never forget, even if he had forgotten his face.

One day, there was a disturbance in the lake. Merlin didn't think much of it. But when he saw him walk out of the lake, he recognized him. He did not understand how he ever thought he could forget such a face. Turning younger while he ran, Merlin hurried towards him - his King, his best friend, his love. "Arthur!" he shouted.

Afterwards, when they were in Merlin's flat, Arthur saw a wall full of framed drawings. They were drawings of him.

"Did you draw these?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Merlin.

"Why did you draw so many?"

"I didn't want to forget."


End file.
